Overview

As the Emerson Prison Initiative enters its ninth academic year, we are looking for new ways to showcase the voices, stories, and perspectives of incarcerated students. One way we plan to do so is to edit and publish an anthology of writing. For this project, we are seeking original work from current EPI students, EPI alumni, and writing by students outside of our program. The only requirement of authors interested in submitting their work is that they have been involved or enrolled in educational programming in a carceral setting.

Your work should in some way address the topic: What does it mean to be educated? You don’t have to answer this question directly, but your work should in some way speak to the question, whether that’s through describing an “educational” experience, researching a topic related to education, or examining similar themes. This prompt is very broad because we want to see how you, the writer, choose to approach the topic.

There are so many directions you could go! The only requirement is that it is non-fiction. Potential genres include, but are not limited to:

• Creative Non-Fiction
• Memoir
• Academic Research Essays
• Profile Essays
• Interviews
• Oral histories
• Open letters
• Visual Art
• Non-fiction verse

For example, you might choose to write a memoir about an experience in K-12 education before you were incarcerated. Or you might write a memoir about a valuable educational experience outside of a classroom. Or what if you wrote a research essay about how higher education impacts the culture of a prison? You could write a profile of a classroom or a library, giving your audience an impression of your subject and meaningful context. And those are just a few ideas. You might also consider adapting a piece of writing you completed for a class, but just remember the audience for this project is much more general. You are welcome to choose any theme that speaks to you related to education, but you will also have to make that connection to education legible to a general audience.

If you need help getting started, consider the following prompts:

• Write an essay about what it means to be “educated.”
• Tell a story about a meaningful educational experience.
• Research a topic related to education and a keyword f your choosing (for example, education and “freedom,” “home,” “identity,” “curiosity,” “music”, etc.)
• What would you like to share about education with other students and teachers, inside or outside of the carceral system, and why?
• What kinds of meaningful knowledge have you learned that a “traditional” education did not teach you or value?  

*Please know we’re not looking for essays that glorify EPI or other educational programs. We’re looking to hear more about you—your experiences and perspectives.

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Submission Guidelines

• For written submissions, there is a 6,000-word limit (no minimum)
• Please use citations when necessary    
• Visual art submissions must be able to be displayed in book form
• Author’s full names cannot be published
  
  • Author’s names will appear as first name only. However, authors can contribute a passage to their work commenting on having their names withheld from final publication.

Email submissions should be sent to: stephen_shane@emerson.edu

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Mail submissions should be sent to:

           Stephen Shane

           120 Boylston Street

           Boston, MA 02116

Final Deadline for Submissions is November 30th, 2025